Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is suing film company New Line Cinema, claiming it withheld profits from the first part of the trilogy.

The Oscar-winner alleges he lost revenue from merchandising, video and computer games releases associated with The Fellowship of The Ring.

Jackson, who is working on his version of King Kong, has claimed unspecified damages at a Los Angeles court.

The 2001 film made worldwide profits of $291 million (£152 million).

There were additional profits gained from merchandising and video rights from the film based on JRR Tolkien's book.

Unfair competition

The New Zealander's legal action is also against New Line subsidiary Katja Motion Pictures Corporation, alleging breach of contract, failure to calculate revenue and unfair competition.

Jackson and his co-writer on the film's screenplay, Fran Walsh, filed the claim on behalf of their company Wingnut Films.

The 43-year-old film-maker, who won last year's best director Oscar for the conclusion to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is widely believed to have secured the most lucrative directing deal in film history for his remake of Hollywood classic King Kong.

Jackson is also reported to be in line to make a film version of Lovely Bones, based on the best-selling book by Alice Sebold.